George, I know what you're saying, and do agree with you (I would alway
advise people in the UK to avail of private treatment if they can at al
afford it). To get some idea of what I'm talking about regarding th
situation in some US states, have a look at this

http://www.dentistry.com/cgi-bin/ubb/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&forum=Studen
ts+|AMP|+Dental+Schools&number=16&DaysPrune=45&LastLogin

I've made the same observation on our message board - NHS dentistr
isn't great by any means, but what gets me about Flap's blog is th
sneering attitude towards dentistry in other countries, when things ar
by no means perfect back home..

George Chatzipetros Wrote:

--
letsconnec

George's Post:

Believe me I do understand what you're saying, but I want to point out
a few things:

First of all, I don't see the reason why an entire class of
professionals should suffer by seeing 40 patients a day or go bankrupt
just because the government wants to boast that it can support viablke,
cheap dentistry. It may be cheap, but it's certainly not viable and
last time I checked I wasn't living in the Soviet Union.

Second, with the current shortage of NHS dentists many people on low
incomes will have NO access to a dentist, let alone a private one.

Third, maybe those people on low income would have the money for access
to dentistry if they didn't have to dole out an 8% supertax just for
their health coverage AND pay for dentistry on top of that.

And lastly, if in general the british people got decent dentistry
instead of cheap McFillings that need to be replaced after a year,
maybe they wouldn't need dentists that much in the first place!

Most of UK dentistry is still delivered in the NHS, but private spend
seems bigger because private fees are much higher than the ridiculously
low NHS fees.

Flap's Reply:

George, how can a new graduate make it in the U.K?

Do they have to indenture themselves with the NHS?

And who pays for the subsidized tuition to your dental schools?  Are
there any truely private dental schools in the U.K.?

Flap

http://flapsblog.com

George's Post:

The British Dental Association is a very poor excuse of a trade union.
Last year it was "discovered" it had a very large deficit which almost
pointed to fraud. This should give you a very good idea of how it is
actually run. A lot of dentists have abandoned it in the past few
years.
As for the government, well its problem is that it consists of
politicians = the scum of the earth. We have the conservatives, who
cannot be trusted with anything because they're frankly morons, and the
labour, who cannot be trusted with anything becausde they're spinsters
and liars of the worst kind. So basically we're screwed.

My solution to the NHS problem? I don't know for sure. We are in Europe
and we cannot just abandon a largely social health model as it has been
part of our culture for very long. But the NHS model is clearly not
working, it's not even "free" anymore as the labour likes to boast.
We've got to have a balance between private and social provision of
health, and for that we might want to look at countries like France or
Sweden who manage to have good state-funded services with a very
different approach. The time of freebies is long past.

All I know is that for a person on average income, which is about 20K
per year if I'm not wrong, national insurance contributions at 8% will
come at 133 pounds a month. This entitles you to the very poor service
the NHS offers as well as a state pension that is so low you can't even
pay for cigarettes. But this amount of money would be enough to get
both BUPA private medical and Denplan private dental care and you would
have some change to put in youir private pension care. The reason
private care seems so expensive for some poeple is that you have to pay
for the state services even if you don't actually use them.
Where does all the money from our taxes go? Everywhere but to the
people who can actually help (doctors, nurses, dentists etc). It goes
to failed asylum seekers from kosovo, 12-year old mothers, people who
spent years on the dole and other freeloaders, NHS managers and
administrators, a 30 billion pound IT system that will probably be
outdated by the time it's finished and a 80K sculpture of a rock to be
placed outside UCL hospital. Can you say "your tax pounds at work"?
I am working in a deprived area and I see a lot of people on
"benefits". You won't believe the amount of freeloaders and parasites I
have encountered in my short time here.

George

Flap's Reply:

Just got into Laughlin, Nevada from a long and hot drive.  Thus, the
delay to reply.

Damn, George it is worse than what is in the BBC and other press
reports.

Since Blair is on his way out is there any incentive for your
government to reform your system or will the free market be allowed to
work?  Or will the government rein it in?

How much does your dental education cost?  Is tuition and fees not
subsidized but the student is responsible for their own living expenses
while in school?

Perhaps we should look at the Swedish model but the American one with
less taxation and more individual incentive with more population may be
an alternative with a few British innovations.

I, too, wonder about the mothers of children presenting for their state
(Medic-Cal) paid fillings wearing designer sunglasses and driving fancy
SUV's(Sports Utility Vehicles).  I see this often.

More later.... off to the poker tables.

Flap

http://flapsblog.com